Help
by SkyNakama27
Summary: Taiki gets injured during a Digimon Hunt and Shoutmon, Yuu, and Tagiru are left to help him out in their own ways. One-shot.


He stood up, leaning on a wall for support. His eyes darted over to his Xros Loader, where his partner was now resting in. He winced at the pain, coughing out droplets of blood. He didn't think the MetalTyrannomon that went berserk would have been hard to catch or stop. Although most of the digimon that went berserk were easy to tame, this one wasn't.

The Xros Loader was thrown out of his hands, and he was unable to Digivolve or Digixros his partner to help him out. The berserk digimon was uncontrollable at that point, and wouldn't stop attacking and smashing objects. His partner was strong, yes, but not strong enough at that point.

His underclassmen were busy, one visiting his sister, the other doing errands. He didn't want to bother them. They had their own things to attend to. Yuu and his sister rarely met nowadays, and Tagiru was saving up money for a new skateboard because his old one was broken by Gumdramon. He felt weak, tired, and pain. He already had an injured shoulder from helping out the soccer team, and now it hurt more than before.

He weakly sat up, eyes scanning for his Xros Loader, which was feet away from him. Slowly getting up, he limped over to it, and let his partner rest. It was the least he could do. After all, injuries would be healed when he would be in the Xros Loader.

" _Taiki, reload me! You need help_!" his partner called out. He grimaced.

"I'm fine," he managed, before coughing out a few more droplets of blood. Raising his arm, he time shifted to his world. It was painful enough already, and it felt like it would fall off. He wanted to get home. It was already a long walk there, and his legs were ready to give up. Taking in his surroundings, he sighed in relief. He was at school grounds at least, and not in the middle of the town.

Leaning against the wall, he slumped down, closing his eyes, fatigue, and ignored his partner's cries. He was exhausted and everything ached all over. He was past his limit already. _At least Shoutmon'll be okay._

Tagiru was running back to school after realizing he left his Xros Loader in his desk. He grimaced, knowing Gumdramon would lash out at him for leaving him. He thought it was in his pocket, but realized later on when noticing his digimon was surprisingly quiet.

" _Tagiru! Why'd you have to forget your Xros Loader! Reload me_!"

And Tagiru did, by accident.

Gumdramon was about to lash out at him, before pausing. Tagiru, waiting for impact, opened his eyes in curiosity. Gumdramon was sniffing the air. _Maybe he's hungry and smells some food..._

"Ou-sama is nearby.." he said. Tagiru paused.

"But Taiki-san probably left already. You sure?"

"I'm positive! This way!"

The 'wild child' ran down the hall, looking for an exit door. He grumbled, seeing so many classroom doors. _Where's the exit to this giant school_?! When he finally found it, he sniffed the air again. The King of the Digital World was around somewhere. His scent was getting stronger.

"Gumdramon?" he yelped, seeing the king. Tagiru finally caught up. He couldn't help but notice the scratches. Didn't the Xros Loader heal a digimon's wounds? Yes, it did take a bit of time to completely heal them... but why would he be out of his Xros Loader if he wasn't fully healed?

"Good timing," he said, voice frantic,"Taiki.. Taiki needs help!"

Tagiru immediately reacted, hearing his senior, his role model, the person he wanted to be like, needed help. But the way his digimon acted meant something terrible happened. He and Gumdramon followed the red digimon to the back of the school.

He noticed Shoutmon's scratches and frowned. Didn't Ryouma say that any injuries that a digimon takes is healed when they enter the Xros Loader? Surely he was in the Xros Loader, but why would he be out? He saw a slumped figure. Tagiru hoped it wasn't him. He walked closer and stared in horror.

It _was_ Taiki.

"Taiki-san, what happened?!" was his first reaction, but he knew his senior wouldn't answer. He was unconscious. Seeing the battered form of his role model coursed worry through him. What had happened, anyway? He looked over to Shoutmon, waiting for an answer.

"A MetalTyrannomon went berserk and we were trying to stop it," he said, a fist forming,"but it knocked Taiki's Xros Loader out of his hand. I tried to stop it myself but.."

Tagiru knew what he was going to say. _But I couldn't_. Yes, he was the King of the Digital World, but he was still a regular digimon, one that could be powerless against any strong foe. And he was by himself, what _could_ he have done?

Tagiru gritted his teeth. If he wasn't so occupied in trying to get a new skateboard, he could have helped. _Taiki-san wouldn't have been hurt_.

" _Tagiru_...?" he suddenly turned his head over to Taiki, his voice rasped.

"Taiki-san, are you okay?" he asked. Taiki gritted his teeth as he winced in pain, arm gripping his shoulder.

"I'm.. fine..."

"How can you say that?!" the underclassman exclaimed.

That was when he saw Shoutmon's face. Realization made its way to his brain. Shoutmon felt more guilt than him, not being able to protect his partner, his close friend.

"I'm sorry Taiki.. It's my fault," whispered the red digimon. Gumdramon walked over to him.

"Ou-sama, you did the best you could," said the younger digimon, hoping to let the older digimon feel better or at least comfort. Shoutmon looked over to him, a small smile to reassure him, but frowned when he looked down. Tagiru understood what Shoutmon felt. He was sure he would feel the same if something happened to Gumdramon.

.

"Taiki-san, are you okay?" Yuu asked, surprised. He heard from Tagiru what happened when he returned home after meeting his sister.

"M' fine," he mumbled.

"Taiki-san, Yuu and I agreed that you're staying in bed this week!" said Tagiru, grinning. "And we'll be helping you out!"

Taiki was about to protest, but said nothing. Once Tagiru was determined to do something, there was no stopping him, and Yuu can be stubborn at times, so he knew that there was no choice but to listen.

"Where's my Xros Loader?" he asked. He needed to know his partner was okay. Anxiety was creeping up on him, he _needed_ to know if his partner was okay. Yuu pointed to the desk beside him. Taiki sighed in relief, knowing his partner was fine.

"I'm sorry, Taiki-san.. for not being able to help."

"I-I'm sorry too!"

"Don't worry about it, Yuu, Tagiru. It was my fault anyway. I should have asked Akari or Zenjirou for a bit of help instead of facing it head on myself," said Taiki, laughing it off.

"Uh... Taiki-san, you know that Akari-san is away on a trip and Zenjirou lives far away... right?"

"I-i knew that!"

Tagiru and Yuu couldn't help but worry. Taiki wasn't the type to easily forget. Was he trying to just reassure them? The two exchanged looks before nodding in agreement. Taiki blinked, confused.

"Tai-" the two stopped, realizing they spoke at the same time.

"You first," said Yuu.

"Really? Yes!" Yuu sighed at Tagiru's sudden enthusiasm. "Taiki-san, since you've helped us out so many times, this time-"

"We aren't turning our backs on you," Yuu finished, giving Tagiru a high five, surprised they were in sync for once.

Taiki smiled. His catchphrase went back to him.

Taiki _was_ grateful that his friends decided to look after him, but they were kind of _overreacting_. He sighed. He only tried to get fresh air outside and Yuu chased him back in. He tried to take a few bandages off ( because he was feeling fine ) but Tagiru caught him and stopped him. And this went on for at least _three_ days.

._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._.

Shoutmon knew the two humans were trying to help their friend, but he couldn't help but agree with Taiki that they were overreacting. To go out for fresh air only to be chased back in would make Shoutmon angry. To try and take off the itching bandages only to be stopped would annoy Shoutmon.

Plus... he wondered how his friend was so _tolerant_ to everything, despite being sleep-deprived.

Taiki had allowed him to be out of the Xros Loader if he ever wanted to, and he was glad. He wasn't the type to be cooped up, neither was Taiki. But Taiki listened to his friends and stayed indoors and didn't take off those bandages. It amazed Shoutmon how much patience the _General_ would have, although he knew that from the times they had adventures in the _Digital World._

He was on alert that night, occasionally dozing off every now and then. He wanted to make sure his partner would have enough rest, and to make sure nothing would happen to him. _Because he failed to do that in DigiQuartz_. It was the least he could do, for his partner, his friend who helped him out many times and helped him become king, fulfilling the dream he longed to come true, and his friend hadn't really asked for anything in return.

._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._.

Although Yuu did realize Taiki needed fresh air now and then, he was worried. Worried that the senior might collapse. After all, he would collapse after overexerting himself in sports.

He then concluded that watching over him and Tagiru was probably a bit stressful for his senior, as he was usually worried about them, despite claiming to wait and see, or knowing one of the two would do fine. And then he and Tagiru would get into troubles, and then be saved by Taiki right at that moment. Not to mention, Yuu had noticed the faint bags under his senior's eyes. Was he unable to get proper rest?

Perhaps the _General of Xros Heart_ was extremely worried for their wellbeing, but pretended not to show anything.

But that wasn't necessarily the case this time. This time Taiki was by himself, and he had no one to help or save him. Shoutmon too, as the Xros Loader was thrown out of reach. Yes, they could have gone to retrieve it, but it would result in getting injured worse by the berserk digimon. It was like the scenario switched around, except there was no one to help him.

He had heard Shoutmon's story to it, but Taiki would say nothing.

Tagiru was forced to stay after school because of forgetting to do homework ( and accidentally breaking a window ), which left him by himself to see his senior.

Taiki was resting in his room peacefully. Yuu then felt that there needed to be air in the room. He saw Shoutmon nod, as if reading his mind, and he opened the window. The senior's eyes opened at the sound and greeted him with a smile.

Perhaps the least he could do was to try to not let him worry or feel stress, but he didn't want to wake up the teen... because he looked _very_ tired.

._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._.

Tagiru groaned. He didn't like staying after school when he should be trying to help his senior. After all, his senior always advised him, helped him, and guided him. The least he could do was return the favor. Return the favor for always saving him right in the nick of time. Return the favor for helping him catch digimon, and so on.

When the teacher finally let him off, he dashed out of the classroom and ran as fast as he could. He wanted to do the most he could, not because he was his role model, his admirer, but because he was his friend. And he would trust him, which is what Tagiru was glad for.

"Taiki-sa-"

"Shhh!" Yuu shushed, a scowl on his face.

"What?"

"Taiki-san just went back to sleep," Yuu explained, his eyes softening,"and... I don't think he's been getting enough sleep."

Tagiru said nothing. Taiki didn't get enough sleep? Why? He was always filled with energy.. when they were around. They didn't know if Taiki did anything when they weren't around. Perhaps he was really exhausted when they didn't know it. He nodded in agreement, remembering the few times he would see the senior had bags under his eyes.

"Then-"

"Yo." The two whipped their heads to see Shoutmon, a playful expression on his face.

"S-Shoutmon!" Tagiru exclaimed, before clamping his mouth shut, remembering Taiki was asleep.

"I didn't think you two would figure that out," Shoutmon whispered.

" _Tagiru, reload me_!" Gumdramon exclaimed, receiving a few 'shhhs' and grumbling a 'sorry.' Tagiru reloaded him, because Gumdramon would keep yelling or asking to get out if he didn't.

"Ou-sama, you look like you haven't slept," Gumdramon stated bluntly, noticing immediately. Shoutmon looked away, denying the statement. Damemon looked at the red digimon, and the three digimon started whispering to each other, leaving Yuu and Tagiru confused.

Yuu sighed, knowing that the digimon were probably up to something. Tagiru was curious as to why they were shut out of the conversation, but didn't say anything.

"Tagiru? Yuu? What are you guys doing here..?" Tagiru yelped at the sudden question, only to see Taiki behind him and Yuu, baffled.

"Taiki-san your injur-"

"I'm feeling fine now, no worries," reassured the _General._

The truth was, Taiki's shoulder still hurt a bit, but aside from that, he was fine. He didn't want to worry the two underclassmen any longer. Shoutmon had finally retreated to the Xros Loader, after Damemon and Gumdramon convinced him to.

He was feeling fine, so he didn't worry about it. Taiki glanced at his Xros Loader, hearing Starmon shushing the Pickmons and Cutemon. Yuu and Tagiru began arguing over who was being louder, and Taiki couldn't help but laugh. _They never change._

"Thanks for helping me out, you two," Taiki said, smiling.

"Taiki-san, like we said, we aren't turning our backs on you!"


End file.
